This week’s column isn’t necessarily On Mission for the Church Alive! related, but you could say it’s inspired by On Mission.  What I mean by that is, at the time of this writing, I don’t have any new information to share with you, but I do have a couple things for you to think and pray about.  Maybe these apply to you; maybe they don’t.  All I ask is that you give them your consideration anyway.

I’m going to indulge my inner Church nerd this week and write about a part of the liturgy today.  That part is, of course, the sequence that preceded the singing of the Alleluia.  I’ve written about sequences before, both in this column and in my weekly email, but the sequence for Pentecost – the Veni, Sancte Spiritus – is too good not to write about.  In fact, in medieval times, this sequence was known as the “Golden Sequence” because of it’s beauty.

Mother’s Day isn’t really a thing in Rome.  They are aware of it – American culture is pervasive, after all – but they aren’t ready to adopt it.  Not because they don’t love their mothers – seriously, look at the respect an Italian grandmother gets form her clan – but because to them, the day seems superfluous.  Isn’t every day a day in which you should give particular honor and respect to the mothers in your life?  (I again refer you to an Italian grandmother.)  This probably says more about the Italian notion of family life than it does the American ideal.

Now that the dust is mostly settled from last weekend’s announcements, I want to try to unpack them a little bit.  First, just in case there are any rumors out there to the contrary: I did not ask to leave Saint Richard.  All the priests and deacons were asked to rank their top three preferences, and this place was definitely my number one choice.  However – and this says a lot about this parish – the grouping of Saint Richard and Saint Catherine was the most requested grouping in the entire diocese by a wide margin.  Returning to my previous assignment was my second choice; and I had picked a random parish in the South Hills as my third (just to be closer to my parents).  I had also expressed an interest in doing educational ministry – I didn’t think that would get me three colleges, but I like a good challenge.  But enough about me.